Decoys

[poorhunter]

Let me ask this question to those that are very pro decoy

Why do you use them honestly? Is it because you have a higher success rate with them or because it makes it easy to just put them out and wait? I would love a 100% honest answer

Note, I'm not talking to the folks that due to age or health don't have a lot of other options.

I used decoys on two hunts. Friend of mine from college who I used to hunt a lot with back in the day brought them down here, and I was excited to try them out. First time was about 10 am in a pretty big (30 acres, big around here) hay field. We had two boys with us and set up a tent blind on the edge of the field and a strutter and hen 25 yards out. Called once and one gobbled on the other side of the rise of the field probably 150 yards away. They topped the rise and strutted all the way up o the decoy in probably 10 seconds. Boom boom two dead toms. Next morning we set up the decoys in a pasture on a different farm. Birds gobbled on the roost and pitched onto the field 3-400 yards away and ran/strutted their way to the decoys, boom boom two more turkeys. I have hunter turkeys for a lot of years. I have messed with field birds a lot in those years, even these same birds that very year in the same fields. I've killed some field birds, but my success rate would be somewhere south of 5%. Even if decoys only worked 25% of the time (I think it's much higher than that early season, less mid and late season) they are an incredible tool that makes killing turkeys way too easy for anyone to kill. I haven't YouTubed turkey hunting much in the last 5 years, but virtually every video is someone killing one with a decoy. To deny they are extremely successful and easy to use for anyone is ridiculous. To deny they are not good for the turkey, and therefore not good for turkey hunting is very short sighted.
In talking with guys work with who do not hunt, they said that they do not know of anybody that does not use corn and decoys to kill turkeys, that it is not possible to do so otherwise. They literally think I'm lying when I said that I use neither and can kill turkeys.

 

[Bgoodman30]

But we shoot deer with rifles?

How many have you called in?

Except they aren't reloading year after year. I hunt a county that was near the top for several seasons and has seen a tremendous drop in both the kill and actual population.

And, yes, excess harvest by hunters is part of the reason for the decline. And, decoys used by those that couldn't come close to killing a bird without that crutch are in that equation.

Which county?

 

[REN]

It's the way I hunted up in Illinois.
Really don't know the run and gun technique.
Be willin to give it a try though.
Tips?

"Run and gun" is just a newer term someone created. I'd be more the. Happy and willing to provide my advice or thoughts to help out anyone trying to learn more about the sport decoys or not so feel free to post questions or PM me any time. I'm no professional at it but have thousands of failed attempts in the past 35 years I can share lol.

And thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to ask the question as a shameful or other demeaning way.

 

[encore06]

I believe the best way to stop the decline is go back to old school. Break action shotgun, and corn cob call. There. Problem solved

 

[Southern Sportsman]

How many have you called in?

A few, if you count rattling.

My point is that using decoys for ducks is not at all analogous to using decoys for turkeys. Just like using rifles for deer is not analogous to using rifles for turkeys. Different animal, different instincts, different sport.

 

[megalomaniac]

It's the way I hunted up in Illinois.
Really don't know the run and gun technique.
Be willin to give it a try though.
Tips?

'run n gun' is basically a technique to cover as much ground as fast as possible to locate a bird. Usually done on LARGE properties where you can cover a good portion of the section you want to hunt in 8-10 miles hiking. Usually done on spots you have no idea whether birds even exist there or not, often the first time hunting a spot. I usually pick out high ground spots I want to call from, map out my route before hitting the property, then start hauling butt until I cut a fresh track, find fresh poop, fresh scratching, or the best... actually strike a gobble. I usually call once every 200y or so. Once you have confirmed a bird actually exists on that property, it's a totally different game (you now abandon the 'run n gun' technique where you listen more than you call, actually spending 30 min or so setting on what looks to be good spots terrain/ habitat wise. If I KNOW there is a bird in the area, I might only cover a half mile to a mile a trip instead of 8-10 miles. Because you expect to cover 8-10 miles when you start out in the morning, you want to go as light as possible. Very light gun, very light or no vest, just a single pot and mouth call, and a bottle of water and snacks. No heavy boots, I use ultralight hiking shoes. You don't want to be hauling anything you don't need. I never even carried a vest until 2 or 3 years ago, but now I really need the cushion to sit on as I've gotten older.

The downside is you will probably walk past 80% of the toms because they won't disclose their presence with a gobble. The upside is you are much more likely to stumble into fresh sign the more ground you cover, so you can locate more birds overall than just going blind into a spot, sitting there for 8hours calling rarely, then walking back out never having heard (or seen any sign because you didn't cover much ground) anything. The other upside is that if you do get a gobble, there is a VERY good chance you will kill that bird (at least in southeast MS) once you know he is there and take the time to work him. I suspect I kill over 50% of the birds I strike down here (TOTALLY different than my farms in TN where they gobble like crazy just because they want to and have no intention of even coming to your call most of the time). But I bet I only strike 5 or 6 birds the entire season over around 30 days in the field. Another upside is I've actually struck birds that gobbled to my footsteps when I'm in the thick stuff. Done that twice, killed both of them.

 

[PalsPal]

I like to "drive and gun" when hunting public ground.

 

[TheLBLman]

Personally, I look at the use of decoys somewhat akin to the use of "rattling" deer antlers, both being something that is often, maybe more often, as much liability as asset.

Particularly in the big scheme of things, the potential benefits of either have been very over-stated, while the liabilities rarely mentioned, I supposed, because money is made in the selling of both decoys & rattling horns?

Sometimes, deer decoys also work great.
So why don't more deer hunters use deer decoys?
One reason is you can do more spooking of deer than attracting of deer via using those decoys.
Never mind the pain in the butt of using ANY decoys.

 

[Hymie3]

I'm just waiting for the "what's the best blind to buy" thread.